No rest for the funemployed: Week 4

This week was a busy interview week, plus some personal stuff.  No pics to share.

• Monday

 I’ve discovered that I wake up by 7:30, even without an alarm.  Sometimes 8, but mainly 7:30.  Is that a lifetime of getting up by 7 or is that age?

Filed my first bi-weekly certification of unemployment.  Once I got the login to work, it was simple. I like this online thing—stories of waiting in line at the unemployment office hopefully are a thing of the past because if people can do it by phone or Internet, why stand in line?

Phone rang at 9:15—recruiter on an exploratory call.  Meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.  Lesson: it is good that I wake up by 7:30 ‘cause I wouldn’t have wanted to sound like he woke me up.

Interview in the afternoon—that south side baseball team.:)  It is for a position that is kinda new, but not brand new; one I could put my stamp on.  It was with the HR manager, but it was an in-person meeting rather than a phone call.  It was an interesting interview and she was upfront that it could be a few weeks before she determines who they will call back for interviews with the hiring department.   I did take a few photos of the stadium; ones I won’t normally get.  But it seems unprofessional to post them during the application process.

Then off to a wake.  :(

• Tuesday

Funeral.  Beautiful day. Nice service.  Good funeral lunch (Greek lemon chicken with spinach).  Drove all over the northwest ‘burbs. (Good gas mileage on the hybrid car!)

First unemployment payment arrived in my account.

• Wednesday

 Busy day.  Had two phone interviews.  The first one was a wash; they are looking for an admin assistant rather than a paralegal who does some admin work.  Second one was  promising; interview scheduled for Friday!  Then in-person recruiter meeting in the afternoon (I no longer call them “interviews” when they are 15 minute meetings—I think to verify that I’m not a serial killer?).  On the way out, the security guard went off on a tangent about how he recently told his teenager that it was better to give than to receive, then asked what life advice I share with other people.  So I shared my favorite:  “When you are winning, shut up.”  :) He laughed and laughed and laughed!

Then happy hour with former co-workers.

• Thursday

Realized today that there are costs to being unemployed that people don’t think about. When you are home more, you use more toilet paper!

I was contacted by a potential client to edit her manuscript. Happy dance! Nothing set yet, but the prospect is nice.

Quick end of day run to the post office—purchased last of stock options from former employer (withholding tax on that is a killer, but still worth the purchase). Had to be post-marked that day or the amount would change.  Six months before I can consider selling; hopefully I’ll have a job by then and won’t need to until I am ready, but if I do...

• Friday

 On Friday I had an interview with a marketing and branding company (the one who I spoke with on Wednesday).  Interesting place; a little like the last place I worked, but a more developed/grownup.  I liked the “training” philosophy they seem to exhibit—they seem to recognize that training employees not only helps in the short term, but also the long term.

Then dinner with sis and BIL.  They are gooooood cooks. :)

•   Saturday

 Even though I had a lot of interview activity this week, new job postings were a little light.  I did find one for an admin assistant, but it sounds more like high-level project coordinating, so decided to apply for that.

Funemployment is a lot of work: Week 3

If anyone thinks that funemployment means watching tv all day, think again!  Uber busy this week! Apologizes in advance for the long post.

•   Monday

 Right now I have lots of lists going—things to do and ideas to keep me productive until I get a new job.  Some of the tasks I’m doing are things I’ve been meaning to do for a while but just haven’t gotten to yet.  One of them was moving my safe deposit box from Wicker Park to a bank closer to where I live. That seemed like a simple enough task for a Monday, so I jotted that down.  I noticed my small box of pennies and thought, “It’s a Monday, so the bank should be able to count and deposit a few bucks worth of pennies.” Then I realized I’d pass a Home Depot between bank stops, so I’d drop off those lightbulbs for recycling . . . and oh yeah, we need gas tanks for the grill. Then my sis realized we are almost out of chicken breasts, so I offer to stop at Marianos while I am at it (trying to eat more organic meat and can’t buy that at the store around the corner).  My computer has been acting up—finally bought a new battery, but the power cord wasn’t staying connected enough to charge, so added a stop at the computer store to Monday’s to-do list. Then sis mentioned in passing that we need to do one of our monster shopping trips ‘cause the cabinets are getting a bit thin, so a stop at Target gets added to the list.  By Sunday morning, I realized I needed a battle plan to get through Monday’s to-do list, and—being unemployed—I also needed to hit the coupon sites before shopping.

I left at 9:30 on Monday and returned at 1:30.  At the bank, I got the new safe deposit box for free by signing up for a checking account (I may have to close it in six months if I drop below a certain dollar amount and pay the fee then, but we’ll see), so that stop took longer than I thought, but I saved $50.  I hit all the stops mentioned above and with couponing at Target and using my Target credit card saved $40 (okay, that is unusually high savings and I suspect the coupons were better due to Easter sales).  The new computer cord seems to be working (mostly), so that will hopefully delay the need for a new computer or a computer repair for a few months.  While it was a long day, I saved anywhere from $90 to $800, so not a bad Thriftista day!

•  Tuesday

 I did some job searching before heading off to a volunteer project—mosaic creating in a West Town park.  It was COLD! Three hours outside, so treated myself to a good cup of hot chocolate while waiting for the bus.

Since learning I was losing my job, I’ve had two people approach me about selling—skin care products or environmentally friendly dry goods. One of them had a meeting Tuesday night, so I decided to go.  While I am not convinced I have the mind-set to do something like this full-time, I am trying to keep myself open to new possibilities.  It was interesting, but I’m still not there yet.

• Wednesday

Wednesday I had another meeting with a new recruiter.  This one told me that I interview well.  The second recruiter to tell me that—I assume it is because I am a bit animated (bubbly?) but not in a blathering sort of way.  Either that or there are a lot of dour paralegals out there!  I tend to think that 80% of the reason I got my last job was due to personality; they knew I wouldn’t frighten other employees (important when working as an in-house paralegal). 

Then off for another segment of the Chicago outdoor sculpture tour (free!).  While looking at one sculpture, I may have found a new favorite sculpture that wasn’t on the list.  Daphne by Dessa Kirk near Michigan and Congress—on the street median!  I will have to go back when the plants are growing and see what they have done to her “skirt”.

There were two sculptures I couldn’t find—anyone know where Alexander Hamilton by Bela Lyan Pratt is now located?  The web says it is supposed to be there, but I just couldn’t find it.

Splash by Jerry Peart was the other one—supposed to be near Millennium (but that one had construction on that corner, so maybe it will return in a few months?). 

Watched the fountain get turned on!  Took a few good pics of the Bean.

Oh, and the thing I always try to remember when walking around Chicago?  Look up!  (Not while walking or during rush hour, but otherwise...)  I randomly spot beautiful buildings that or angles of objects that I would miss if I just looked at it straight on.  A new favorite sculpture is by the Art Institute.  The Large Interior Form by Henry Moore looks completely different at different angles.  Here’s the “up” shot and one with a beautiful old building and a skyscraper behind it.

Then I took the free tour of the Chicago Cultural Center.  If you like stained glass domes or mosaics, this is a MUST see.  They provide free tours on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 1 pm.  This may be a better cold weather activity as the docent said attendance is much higher in the spring and summer than winter.  I think I’ll write a blog for Thriftista about this free event.

• Thursday and Friday

Thursday and Friday were less eventful.  A friend had an unexpected business trip when she also had a sick cat. I picked up the keys and checked up on the sicky cat.  Trying to shoot florescent pink medicine into a feline mouth is messy!  Then hit the gym both days, before returning home for more job hunting.  As the paralegal listings seemed a little light lately, I started thinking about whether or not/how to expand the job hunt—only to have two companies similar to the one I just stopped working for post paralegal jobs.  I should get calls on those (even if I don’t get interviews, I should at least get calls or their HR departments aren’t doing their jobs!).  One of these companies had what I consider to be the best job application website; insert name, address, email, upload resume, upload cover letter, and hit submit!  Simple and sensible.  No importing or pretending to import (then having to insert the data myself on) the same info into the same job application. Many other jobs appeared as well, so spent both afternoons working on job applications.  Putting my paralegal skills to use for myself; drafting a contract for my editing services. 

Since Thursday was sis’s b-day, I bought a mini-peanut butter pie at First Slice.  Yummy! And season ending of Scandal, of course...  Then on Friday met friends to celebrate sis’s bday—local pizza place with outdoor patio (enclosed, when needed) and beer.

•   Saturday

 Saturday was another volunteer day; this time at the Lincoln Park Conservatory.  We were cleaning out one of the green house areas—sweeping leaves and debris, pulling weeds that had already begun to grow in the gravel and cement.  There were some furry parts among the dead leaves—blurg!  When I got home I needed a NAP! I’m also discovering another sign of age. I used to hurt the day after physical labor, now it starts a few hours after the labor has ended.   Anyway, got to see the koi pond and other flora.  This is another one of my favorite free places in the city.

Then drove to burbs to see a friend that night.  I slept well.

Putting the fun in unemployment: Week 2

Monday was the first day that I really felt unemployed.  It may be that after having a week of rest, I am ready to think about life more. 

I forced myself out of bed and went to the gym (paid for yearly in advance, so must use!) and discovered that there are some—not a lot, but enough—people arriving at the gym at 930 am.  There was even a yuppy-ish couple working with a personal trainer.  So I won’t be out of place if I go during normal business hours.

My new office:

Filing for unemployment:  The Illinois Department of Employment Security’s website is pretty easy to use (so far).  I was able to log in and easily create an account, including direct deposit, and file my claim.  I downloaded the form to track and report my job search efforts.  I took a look at their job link and only found one job in my profession posted in the last 30 days.  It looks like I’ll continue my traditional job search in tandem with using the IDES job link!  My weekly benefit won’t be anywhere near what I normally make, but it will cover COBRA and groceries.  It looks like I will be assigned a day to report every two weeks—reporting any money I made and giving an update on my job search.

Job search:  What is my number one complaint right now? WHAT IS THE POINT OF UPLOADING A RESUME IF THE INFORMATION ISN’T IMPORTED AND I HAVE TO COPY AND PASTE THE INFO IN ANYWAY?!  Don’t give the option to upload! Yes, I am yelling at the numerous website that do this.  It is simply STUPID!

I also had a head/desk moment—something stupid that I did.  You know, that moment when you realize there is a mistake on your resume.  It looks like I sent out two or three resumes last week that listed my last date of employment as 2013 instead of 2014.  AAARRRGGGH.  I can’t blame anyone else for that one.

Tuesday was a bit more of a creative day.  I’m starting to think about what manuscript I want to finish during funemployment.  I also started to actively look for more editing gigs.  But it was my volunteering that wiped me out!  Another Chicago Cares project was for homework help from 315 to 430 in Uptown.  I get there and it is a bit relaxed; someone finds a kid who needs help and matches him or her up with a volunteer.  I get paired up with a little girl who is reading The Little Mermaid (Disney version), but she wanted to read it to herself.  Since she was turning the pages so quickly (more quickly than I could read each page), I assumed she wasn’t actually reading and got her to read out loud to me.  She could read, so I don’t know why she was turning the pages so quickly when reading to herself.  But then playtime hit and I found myself on the playground playing tag and freeze-tag.  WHO NEEDS AEROBICS!  PLAY TAG WITH KIDS!  I think I burned more calories than 45 minutes at the gym.  As the little girls were shrieking, I found myself making a similar noise and thinking, "Oh yeah, this is what little girls do."

Wednesday I had a meeting in the Loop with a recruiter.  This recruiter at least had some ideas on how to improve my resume—I should focus one on my corporate paralegal skills (gov’t filings, contracts, etc.) and have another one that focuses more on Intellectual Property.  Sigh.   I hate having more than one resume as it is more to keep track of.  But at least she provided constructive feedback, which is more than other recruiters have done.  When I was done, I walked up to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to see the (free) Money Museum.  It was interesting, but people who go should definitely get there by 1 pm so they can at least see the video.  Without the video, it was kinda small and, by myself, only took about 10-15 minutes to get through.  I did get a free picture of myself in the museum and a few small bags of shredded money. :)  Then I checked my Chicago pop out map to see what public sculptures were nearby that I hadn’t seen before.  The Chegall mosaic. (And this is what happens when you use the panoramic setting on a flat wall.  The mosaic is NOT rounded.)

A friend also texted that her hospitalized father was fading.  Talked to her for an hour and a half.  More sadness to come.

Thursday was a quiet day.  Gym, laundry (no tan!), reading, jobs search. Had sushi with friends. 

On Friday morning I took a little ramble since it was a beautiful day. I grabbed my camera and headed out.  I’m going to try and take pictures of the city.  My first route will be the Brown Line—see what interesting things there are along the Brown Line and viewed from the Brown Line.  I only made it as far as Belmont, and I will have to do some back tracking at some stops—on foot.  If I decide to do all train lines, it will be an extensive project (so no promises).

Here's the Brown Line El crossing the North Branch River (view from Wilson Ave.).

Funny moment:  I applied for a job with the south side baseball team earlier in the week.  Yes. Me.  Baseball.  And before any northsiders get snide, I tried to apply for the north side team a few weeks back but their website locked me out and their “tech support” was utterly unhelpful.  Anyway, I got a call today for an interview—wouldn’t that be the funniest thing?!  They were supposed to accept resumes until the 16^th, but have already stopped, so I suspect they received more applicants than they expected—I think I should be impressed that I made it as far as an interview. 

Saturday is cleaning day.  Then went off with L to do our annual springtime Wicker Park walk—Division and Milwaukee.  Had $3 mimosas, found $20 shoes (cute heels), and lots of walking and talking and browsing.  Tons of people out—first real spring weekend of the season and EVERYONE and their pets were out.  Not joking on the pets: they are everywhere!

Sunday has been a quiet day.  Finished a final proof for an editing client.  Made tacos for dinner.  Planning lots of errands for Monday.  And TV night!